We watched the Finnish final last weekend, as well as the Norwegian repechage round. Is it a bad sign for Finland that any of the songs vying for a second shot at the Norwegian final outshined the Finnish entry, Kuunkuiskaajat’s “Työlki ellää”?
I mean, it’s not bad; it’s even kinda catchy, with some pretty cool backing vocals. But I can’t say it really grabbed me. (In fact, I was kind of rooting for Eläkeläiset’s “Hulluna humpasta” for sheer anarchy’s sake.) We’ll see how memorable “Työlki ellää” is compared to the slew of inevitable post-Rybak neo-folk numbers that are surely coming this year.
The Norwegian Siste Sjansen show, incidentally, featured a Rybak rip-off number, Gaute Ormåsen’s “Synk eller svøm“. And it’s a terrific song in it’s own right, despite the similarities. But my favorite of the runners-up, and one of the two that made it through to Norway’s upcoming final, is Venke Knutson’s “Jealous Cause I Love You”:
It doesn’t have a shot of winning the national final in a year when Norway is hosting Eurovision, so I’m just going to savor it now.
Michael Von Der Heide debuted “Il pleut de l’or”, Switzerland’s entry into this year’s Eurovision Song Contest this past Saturday:
I’ve listened to it a couple of times already, and it hasn’t made much of an impression on me. I don’t hate it when I hear it, but I forget about it pretty quickly afterward. I’m sure it will do… moderately?
It’s Eurovision season again, and as usual, we kick it off with Albania’s contribution. How will the nation recover from last year’s disastrously staged entry?
Apparently, by making use of the Eurovision Song-Generating Music Unit 3000. Juliana Pasha’s “Nuk mundem pa ty” could not be more generic if she were wearing a white dress with the word “Singer” written in black text across her front.
(The Eurovision Song-Generating Music Unit 3000 is a reference to the Comics Curmudgeon and its coverage of the Archie comic strip. Obviously, both of these units are made by the same company.)
A metal concept album about Charlemagne by Christopher Lee. Yes. I have a feeling we could have avoided this fate somehow if Peter Jackson had done a better job resolving the Saruman arc in The Lord of the Rings.
I really, really want there to be a scene in Sherlock Holmes where, while chasing the baddie around Victorian London, Holmes and Watson stop by a 7-11 for taquitos.
The European Broadcasting Union has fined Azerbaijan’s Ictimai TV for distorting the TV signal when Armenia’s Inga and Anush performed during last year’s Eurovision Song Contest, then blurring out their phone number during the voting. Despite this, Armenia still received five points from Azerbaijan.
Edward Woodward died. He’s my favorite Ghost of Christmas Present ever, and starred in one of my favorite films, The Wicker Man. (Er, the original, and it pains me that I have to say that.) In honor of Robert McCall, Breaker Morant, Tom Weaver, and Sgt. Howie, here’s some songs from The Wicker Man.
“Corn Rigs”
“The Landlord’s Daughter”
“Gently Johnny”
“Willow’s Song”
Also, here’s a link to Doves’ brilliant version of “Willow’s Song.”
